What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is about paying attention in the present moment, and without judgement. Practical and easy to learn, simple to use and yet the benefits are immense.

Mindfulness refers to a state of mind characterized by awareness and attention in the present moment. It is a way of bringing us back in touch with ourselves so that we can relate directly to whatever is happening in our lives right now with acceptance, curiosity, and non judgement. Mindfulness practice originated in Buddhist meditation, and has since been adapted for non-religious and therapeutic applications, the essence is secular, universal and of deeply practical benefit to everyone whether young or old.

Mindfulness has been developed by Jon Kabat - Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical School as a way to help people overcome stress, anxiety, depression and pain and to build resilience to the demands of everyday life and improve physical and emotional wellbeing.

The practice of mindfulness meditation has shown to bring significant benefits to physical and mental health and happiness. Instead of rushing ahead blindly trying to get things done with tension and resistance; mindfulness helps us to step back and from a wider perpective, we are able see more clearly our habitual reactions to stressful events as they occur in daily life. Mindfulness provides a central axis of peace and spaciousness from where we discover that in each moment, we have the choice to respond to stressors in ways that are more accepting, kinder to ourselves and less damaging to our health and happiness.